Monday, March 2, 2009

In case you haven't heard.....


Here is a rundown of tennis stories from the past few days that you may not have picked up on. Nicholas Almagro, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic and Mardy Fish all won the tournaments they competed in, but much more happened off the court as well.

After withdrawing from his quarterfinal match in Dubai with a virus, Andy Murray hasb withdrawn from Britains upcoming Davis Cup tie with Ukraine. This will be a huge blow to the team, as they lose the number 4 in the world. The match, set to take place at the Braehead Arena in Scotland will go from March 6th-8th, but it is a safe bet to say that Murray's withdrawal with take away many spectators that were set to see the Brit compete. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed that I won’t be playing in Glasgow this week, but the doctor has told me that I need complete rest for at least seven days, and I have to respect that,” said Murray, who recently defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals in Rotterdam.“I hoped that pulling out of Dubai when I did would give me enough time to recover, but this virus has hit me harder than any illness I’ve had before and I still feel terrible.”

The Billie Jean King Cup airing tonight on HBO is set to feature Venus and Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic. The exhibition, which marks the return of women's tennis to Madison Square Garden, will be honoring King and the ceremony will feature former president Bill Clinton. The first matches will be Serena vs. Ivanovic and Venus vs. Jankovic. The winners in each match will face eachother in a best of 3 set final, with 1.2 million dollars in total prize money. King, John Mcenroe and Mary Carillo will be in the booth for the prestigious event.

Security will be in full swing at the Sweden-Israel Davis Cup tie this upcoming weekend. Up to 1,000 officers will be on the job to guarentee the players from the two countries complete safety. The match will be taking place at the Baltiska Hallen Arena in Malmo. The Israeli team is set to arrive in Malmo with two security guards by their side. "They have stated that they want to stop the Davis Cup match at any cost," said Malmö police chief Håkan Jarborg Eriksson. Swedish police authorities however, have rejected a request from Israel for the security guards to be allowed to carry handguns.
Serving up the topics for you to discuss,
Jake

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